The world added a record 138.5 gigawatts of renewable power capacity in 2016 despite a 23 percent drop in investment, reflecting the falling cost of clean energy, the United Nations announced Thursday.
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The new energy — mainly from wind and solar installations, but not including large hydro projects — was up 8 percent from the previous year, on global investment of US$242 billion.
Investment in fossil fuel-based energy was approximately half that amount in 2016, according to a report jointly published by U.N. Environment and Bloomberg New Energy Finance, BNEF.
"Ever-cheaper clean tech provides a real opportunity for investors to get more for less," said Erik Solheim, Executive Director of U.N. Environment.
The new figures come a day after Europe's energy utilities dealt a body blow to the coal industry by pledging that no new coal-fired power plants would be built after 2020.